Twee jonge vrouwen aan het werk 1875 - 1934

This sketch of two young women at work was made by Isaac Israels. It's so interesting to see the bones of a painting laid bare like this. I wonder what Israels was thinking, what he was trying to figure out. You can see him circling each figure, trying to capture the essence of their pose. There’s a real sense of movement, as if he were trying to keep up with them. I bet the women didn't know he was drawing them; he’s trying to catch them unawares, absorbed in their task. I sympathize with the artist, the desire to capture something fleeting. It makes me think about all the drawings and paintings that came before this one, and all the ones that came after, it’s like one continuous conversation. We artists are all in it together. Each new mark builds on the last.